Hogwarts Ruins
by sprinter1988
Summary: Hogwarts was abandoned after the epic final battle. Seven years later, Neville, Luna and select few others are heading into Hogwarts Ruins to see  if wizards can reclaim it from the creatures that now live there. Draco, meanwhile, has other plans...


**Disclaimer: No, I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, though I do own copies of all the books and films. The people who do own the Harry Potter franchise are JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros. and a few other publishers. Thank you to JKR for letting us play about in the sandbox of the Wizarding World.**

**Hogwarts Ruins**

_Prologue: The End of the Battle_

_7 years, eight months, two weeks and three days ago_

'Expelliarmus'

'Avada Kedavra'

_The two spells met in a bright flash of sparks and in that moment, the Elder Wand was wrenched from Voldemort's grip. The wand flew in a graceful arc through the air, and Harry Potter, with the quick reflexes honed by playing in the position of Seeker in the school Quidditch team for years, reached out and caught it even as Voldemort's own killing curse was rebounded upon the dark lord._

_The jet of green light pulsed as it slammed against Voldemort, throwing the suddenly lifeless body across the Great Hall of Hogwarts where it crashed to the ground, spread eagled, and the red eyes open as they stared at nothing._

_The survivors of the battle broke out into a huge cheer and moved as one towards their saviour, the Chosen One; Harry Potter, who had thrown down the greatest evil in decades and saved the world._

_But none of them was fast enough to prevent what would happen next._

_Fenrir Greyback, wolf in both name and nature, may have been thrown down during the final push of the light side, but he was far from out. He saw his master fall, and knew that without Voldemort his life was forfeit. But he knew that there was one way he could ensure that his notoriety would live on; he would attack the saviour._

_Before anyone could think to stop him, Fenrir rose from the ground and lunged. The Hawthorne wand of Draco Malfoy and the legendary Elder Wand both dropped from Harry Potter's hands as he was dragged screaming to the ground by the most vicious werewolf of the age. Tooth and claw sunk into the boy-hero's flesh, scarring him for life and doing their damage._

'_Avada Kedavra'_

_The flash of green shot from the wand of Hermione Granger and slammed into the flank of the Werewolf and Fenrir Greyback crashed to the ground, his life snuffed out._

_This time, it was only Hermione who moved. As everyone held back out of fear, Hermione Granger rushed over to her injured best friend._

_Blood poured from the deep wounds on his neck and chest. His face was covered in his own blood. Hermione fell to her knees beside him, grasping his hand in one of her own, her other hand holding her wand with which she tried desperately to stop the blood flow._

_Finally the school nurse Madame Pomfrey, and the headmistress Professor McGonagall hurried forward to help her. Finally the bleeding stopped and the blood was cleaned up, but the damage was done. The scars would be there for life, and Madam Pomfrey's scanning spells revealed that Harry had indeed received a full dose of lycanthropy. He would be a Werewolf._

_As Hermione sat, cradling an unconscious Harry's head in her lap, Madam Pomfrey turned her attentions to another victim of Fenrir Greyback._

_Lavender Brown would have only hours to live at this rate._

_As Hermione cried over Harry, and Madam Pomfrey and others worked hard to heal up the other injured, everyone else set about moving the bodies. Those belonging to the light were set aside in the Great Hall; those who had followed Voldemort were taken outside and burnt._

_Hours later the decision was made. Hogwarts was to be abandoned, at least for now. There was so much damage done that there was not one bit of the castle that was rubble free. All of the many towers had fallen, and all the bridges had collapsed. The Quidditch Pitch had been burnt to the ground, and there was only a massive hole where the Hospital Wing had been, and there was no evidence that there had ever been a library in the blackened room that once housed books hundreds of years old._

_Hogwarts would take years to repair, even with magic. And, unfortunately, repairing the magical school could not be high on anybody's to-do list right now. There were people who still needed healing; families to inform, dead to bury, muggle-borns and blood-traitors to free, death eaters and snatchers to lock up, a ministry to reclaim and rebuild. Hogwarts would just have to wait_

_Taking the bodies of their loved ones with them, the survivors began to clear out. The Centaurs returned to the Forbidden Forest, followed by Buckbeak the Hippogriff and the herd of Thestrals. Grawp and Hagrid went into the mountains; Grawp to his cave whilst Hagrid used his own magic to move his hut there; he wanted to be near his half-brother. The Acromantulas had already fled back into the forest._

_House Elves followed along behind the wizards and witches; whilst Hogwarts would have to wait to be rebuilt, magical children would still need to go to school, and the House Elves would serve them and their teachers wherever the children were taught._

_Harry Potter had awoken a mere hour ago, as the last few survivors were leaving. He was lying in an old tattered bed one of the house elves had found for him. Hermione sat in an old wooden chair next to his bed, still clutching his hand. On his other side, in another bed laid Lavender Brown. She had been healed, but she too was confirmed a Werewolf, as were thirteen of the others in the room. The other twenty-or so were Vampires in the long process of turning._

_In the time since he had awoken, the truth had been told to Harry, and he felt as if fate was determined to screw with him. He had done it; he had put his life on the line and killed Voldemort, and now he was a Werewolf. He had been given a chance to go on to the 'Next Great Adventure' as Dumbledore called it, but he had turned it down in the hopes of having a happy life._

_But now those hopes were gone; that much was hammered home when the Weasleys came to see him and neither Ron nor Ginny could bring themselves to look at him._

_He had had plenty of time to think since then, and had come to a decision; a decision that would upset quite a few people, most especially the young woman currently clinging to his hand._

_But it was for the best, he assured himself._

_Finally the silence of the room was broken when Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Vector and Sinistra entered, along with Madam Pomfrey._

"_Okay, everyone." spoke Professor McGonagall "Everyone else has gone; it is time for us to leave as well."_

"_Yeah, about that" spoke Harry from his position on the bed "I'm not going."_

_That statement drew every eye in the room, well every awake eye, anyway._

"_And what on earth do you mean by that, Mr Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey._

"_You know exactly what I mean by that, Madam Pomfrey." replied Harry "It is better for me and everyone else if I stay here, out of the way."_

"_Out of the way?" asked Professor McGonagall "Why on earth would you think you're better off out of the way?"_

"_I'm a Werewolf." said Harry "I won't be welcome in your society."_

"_Of course you will." said Professor Flitwick "They'll overlook this; you saved the world."_

"_They won't overlook it, Professor." said Harry, his gaze firmly on the hole in the ceiling "The prejudice is far too ingrained. I only had to look at Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley to know that."_

"_I'm sure it was just the shock of it..." began McGonagall "...after all, the Weasley family does have Bill..."_

"_It's different for Bill." interrupted Harry "He's their family. And his wounds were not that bad. All that changed for him was a few scars and liking his steaks on the rare side. And before you mention Remus, the Weasleys only tolerated him because he was close to me. They were always more than a little scared of him, anyone could tell that."_

_He took a deep, calming breath, before saying "If I leave here, if I go out there, into the Wizarding World... it'll be just like Second Year, when everyone thought I was the heir of Slytherin. The fact that I vanquished Voldemort for them did not matter to them then, and it will not now. I would say I'd be treated like a second-class citizen, but we all know that that title is reserved for goblins and "mudbloods". So it's best if I stay here, away from all of that. Tell them I succumbed to the wounds if you must, but I'm not leaving."_

_With that he turned over to face away from the group. His mind was made up and nothing was going to change it._

_McGonagall and the other staff stood staring at his back for a few long moments, before Lavender Brown spoke up._

"_I'm going to stay too, Professor." she said in a sad, quiet voice "My reasons are the same."_

_McGonagall could only nod before looking around the room "Anyone else?"_

_Slowly, one by one, those who had been infected with Lycanthropy nodded their heads. They would all stay._

_From his position facing away from the Professors, Harry spoke once again "I expect the Vampires will want to stay too. We'll tell them our reasons for staying when they wake up, and then they can make their own choice."_

_With a heavy heart, Professor Minerva McGonagall breathed a heavy sigh. It was almost like the death-count had just gotten higher._

"_Very well. I suppose we all owe it to all of you to respect your wishes in this matter. Miss Granger?"_

_Slightly startled, Hermione looked up at her teachers._

"_Um," she began in a slightly shaky voice "I'd like to stay with Harry for a bit, if that's alright?"_

_McGonagall gave a nod "I'll leave Winky the House Elf here to take you to the Three Broomsticks when you are ready. I'll wait for you there."_

_Hermione could only nod in thanks as she watched her Professors turn and leave with Madam Pomfrey._

_After they had gone, she felt Harry's hand squeeze her fingers. She looked down into his green eyes to see that they were filled with unshed tears._

"_Thank you." he muttered._

_Hermione gave him a small smile and then leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead, where his now faded scar was located._

_As the group of staff walked through the remains of the Entrance Hall, Professor Flitwick turned to Professor McGonagall "She's never going to leave his side, is she? Even if it means becoming a Werewolf herself."_

_After a few moments, Professor McGonagall gave her one word reply._

"_No."_

_Sure enough, later that evening, Winky the House Elf appeared without Hermione Granger. She did, however, carry a note, which she handed to the headmistress._

Dear Professor McGonagall,

As you can probably guess by her not being with Winky, Hermione has decided that she wants to stay here with me. I refused to let her, until she told me, under a witch's oath, that there was a real reason for this. You see, despite what she told everyone, Hermione did not send her parents to Australia after wiping memories of herself from their minds. What really happened was a Death Eater attack on their Dental Surgery. Hermione got rid of the Dark Mark herself and no one ever knew because by that time there were enough Voldemort supporters in the Ministry to keep the Aurors from finding out. Hermione never told me or anybody else this because she did not want to upset me. She said that I'd just think that I'd blame myself for it and pull away from her.

What can I say; the girl knows me too well.

Despite what she began to feel for Ron she fully understands why the reactions of him and his family to me have contributed to my wanting to stay here. She cares deeply for Ron, but will never be happy with him, knowing that I have stayed away and he's a part of the cause.

I am by no means proud to admit that I gave in. She is now a Werewolf too, and, despite the sickening feeling it gave be to be the one to bite her, the happiness she seemed to almost glow with upon realising I was going to let her stay with me made it all worth it.

I think, now, that I will be happy here. For once I will be surrounded by others who are just like me, and more importantly, I'll have my best friend in the world here with me too.

Never doubt that we will miss many of those who cannot be here with us, including you, Professor, but I firmly believe that this is for the best, for everyone.

I don't know if we will ever be able to correspond again, but perhaps our paths will cross once more someday. Until then, I must say farewell.

Sincerely

Harry James Potter

The Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Man-Who-Conquered- Voldemort, Werewolf.

PS. Please find enclosed the key to my vault at Gringotts. Winky will have by now already taken instructions to the Goblins to first take what they need to repair the damages caused by my raid of the Lestrange Vault and subsequent escape; and second to allow you access to withdraw the necessary funds to help rebuild the Wizarding World.

Yours, HJP

_McGonagall folded the letter and searched the envelope, in which she found the key to a Gringotts vault._

_Merlin bless that boy._

_Finally she turned back to the House Elf, standing patiently beside her. Behind the elf was a window, through which McGonagall could see the full moon shining brightly._

"_Did they happen to transform before you left, Winky?"_

"_Yes, Mistress." responded Winky, nodding her head rapidly, causing her ears to flap "Is Mistress wanting to view Winky's memory? The Great One said you might want to see if everything is going okay."_

"_Thank you Winky." said McGonagall "I would like that."_

_The headmistress took the pensieve that had once belonged to Albus Dumbledore out of her pocket, returned it to its normal size, and then took the memory from Winky for her to view._

_When she left the memory, McGonagall had to ask Madam Rosmerta, the landlady of the Three Broomsticks, for a swift shot of fire whiskey._

_At ten feet tall, with red and gold wings and long, serpentine tails, it would seem that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had become something more than mere Werewolves._

_The question now was, how long would that knowledge remain hidden?_

**A/N: Here is my second Harry Potter story. This is just a prologue, and, while it focuses on Harry and Hermione, the actual story itself will focus mainly on Neville, Luna and Draco. When watching the Lost World: Jurassic Park the other day, I thought that it might be fun to do a parody of it using magical creatures instead of dinosaurs. I don't know how well it will work, so let me know!**


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